SOMERSET, NJ - Adding to her ever-growing list of awards and accomplishments, former Rutgers University fencer Alexis Jemal (Westfield, NJ) received the 2003 College Athletic Administrators of New Jersey (CAANJ) Division I Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year award this afternoon during the organization's annual conference.

Alexis Jemal (left) receives the 2003 College Athletic Administrators of New Jersey (CAANJ) Division I Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.

Jemal was honored along with the Rutgers Division of Intercollegiate Athletics, which won the CAANJ Cup as the state's top Division I athletic department for the fourth time in the last five years.

The award ceremony begins an exciting weekend for Jemal, who will also receive the Headley-Singer Award (as Rutgers' top female athlete) and Athletic Director's Award at halftime of Saturday's football game vs. Pittsburgh.

Jemal completed a spectacular career "On the Banks" by winning the 2003 NCAA saber title, posting a 33-2 record as a senior. Last year's NCAA Regional champion, she also won titles at the Penn State Open and Temple Open, all coming after a 10th-place finish at the 2002 NCAA Championships. Ranked fifth in women's saber in the U.S., she was a National Team member and a three-time All-American while at Rutgers, serving as the team's captain as a senior.

Also prolific in the classroom, she was named to the 2003 Verizon Academic All-America University Division At-Large First Team, achieving a 4.0 grade point average in her major of sociology. A member of the International Honor Key Society, she was Phi Beta Kappa and a member of the Dean's List as well as a winner of the Rutgers President's Award.

Other winners at today's ceremony, which took place at the Somerset Marriott:

Student-Athlete Awards
Junior College Division - Amy Garwood (Sussex County Community College); Stephen Whitehead (Ocean County College)
Division III - Kara Fetter (Drew University); Brian Gonsar (FDU-Florham)
Division I, II and NAIA - Alexis Jemal (Rutgers University), Justin Rosato (Monmouth University)

CAANJ Cup Winners
Division I, II and NAIA - Rutgers University
Division III - The College of New Jersey
Junior College Division - Brookdale County College